Razor-strop



(No Model.)

T. O. HOLLAND.

UNrTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS OSBORNE HOLLAND, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAZOR-STRG P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,766, dated May 10, 1898.

Application iled May 5, 1897. Serial No..635,24=1. (No model.) V

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known' that I, THoMAs OsBoRNE HOL- LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at'Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Razor-Strops; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to razor-strops.

The object is to provide a razor-strop in which the stropping-surfaces will bev held under requisite tension at all times without the employment of any means for stretching or tightening the same, such as are usually employed; furthermore, to provide a razorstrop adapted to be folded up so as to occupy but small space, and, finally, to provide a razor-strop in which the handle when closed up will lie folded within the body of the strop and when opened will be held rigidly in place against lateral or vertical movement.

In a razor-strop characterized by my invention I employ a body composed of a faceplate, back plate, and a pivoted handle, in connection with the usual stropping-surfaces. The back plate may be composed of any suitable material possessing requisite strength, lightness, and fleXibility-such as wood, indurated fiber, or vulcanized ber, preferably the latter, on account of its water-resisting qualities and its non-liability to crack or break. The face-plateis constructed, preferably, of a piece of sheet metal, although it may be constructed of other materials, the object of employing a thin sheet of metal being that the finishing-surface of the strop will yield to the pressure of the razor, and thereby bring the strop into direct contact with the edge of the razor to produce a ne and smooth cutting edge. One end of this strip of metal is bent to form a flange-'which is secured to the back plate, as by means of rivets or other suitable fastening devices. At the other end of the body are secured two cleats or guides, extending parallel with the length of the body and provided with V- shaped grooves adapted to be engaged by the handle of the strop. These cleats are made of any suitablepmaterial, preferably of indurated or vulcanized ber, for the reasons above given, and are secured to the back plate by rivets or the like. \Secured to the upper surface of these cleats is a metal plate operating to give increased strength to the cleats and to prevent lateral spread of the same when' the handlev is. inserted between them. At a point adjacent to the cleats and passing through the back and front plates is a rivet which serves to hold the two plates assembled and at the same time allows the front plate to yield for the purpose specified. The handle is provided with a plate having an oblong slot through which the rivet at the front portion of the body of the strop is passed, this plate serving as a swivel for the handle, and the handle at its inner portion is formed in cross-section to engage the recesses in the cleats, so that when pushed to position it will be securely held. The slotted plate prevents separation of the handle from the strop. This plate is secured to the handle at some distance from its inner end, so that when the handle is moved to the position to permit of being pushed in between the cleats the plate on the upper surface of the cleats will pass between thelslotted plate of the handle and the handle proper, and thus leave the handle free to be seated. The stroppingsurfaces on the respective faces may be of any suitable material, and in this instance the stropping-surfaceon the back plate will be of rough leather or canvas and on the faceplate of a fine grade of leather, such as is used in putting the finishing touches to a razer-edge. y i

Further and more specific details of construction will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like letters 'of reference indicate corresponding parts, I have illustrated a form of embodiment of my invention, although it is to be understood that other forms of embodiment thereof may be employed without departing from the spirit of the same, and in these drawings-u Figure l is a View in sectional elevation,

displaying the handle of the strop in the position it will occupy when the strop is in use. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2 2, Fig. l, and looking in the direction of the arrow thereon, showing the disposition of the different parts of the strop-body. Fig. 3 is a View in plan showing more particularly the construction of the handle. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of a modified form of handle.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the back plate of the strop, A2 the front plate, and A3 the handle. The back plate A may be constructed of any suitable material-such as wood, indurated fiber, or vulcanized fiberand the face-plate A2 of a strip of spring metal, although other materials may be used. The face-plate is bent or curved substantially at right angles to itself, as shown at a, and then again at right angles to the portion a, as shown at a2, to form a iange to which the back plate is secured by rivets or the like, this face-plate bein gassembled with the back plate near the front of the strop by rivet a3, as clearly shown in Fig. l.

Secured to the back plate are two cleats a4, of wood, indurated fiber, or vulcanized liber, each of these cleats being provided with a V- shaped recess a5, the function of which will presently appear. Placed upon the top of these cleats is a sheet of metal a, and through this metal plate, cleats, and back plate are passed rivets a7 for holding the parts assembled.

The handle A3 may be constructed of any suitable material, such as any one of those mentioned, and has secured to it a metallic strip a8, secured near its rear portion to the handle by rivets a9. v The front portion of this strip lis provided with a slot am, through which the rivet as is passed to hold the handle and the strop-body from accidental separation. As will be seen by reference to Fig. l, the rivet a3 is at the inner ends of the cleats, thus leaving the metal face-plate free from this rivet outward, so that the strip a8 will readily slip between the plate aand the faceplate A2 when the handle is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 to bring the handle into alinement with the long diameter of the strop-body. The handle is then slipped in between theV cleats, and in order that the engagement between these parts shall be an effective one that portion of the handle which engages with the cleats is beveled on each side, as shown in Fig. 2, to effect a firm and stable connection. As the handle is pushed in quite a distance between the cleats it is necessary that the rivets for holding the strip as on the handle shall be sufficiently removed from the end of the handle to permit of the plate a6 passing between the strip a8 and the handle A3, thus allowing the handle to be moved in a suflicient distance to effect its proper securement in place.

The face-plate may be provided with a suitable stropping-surface a, preferably of soft leather, which by reason of the resilient face-plate will yield to the pressure of the razor, and thereby give the same a smooth and finished edge. The back plate may be provided with a rougher stropping-surface am, such as coarse leather or canvas, or, if preferred, a hone mayin some instances be substituted for the surface @12.

Instead of bending the end of the face-plate in the manner described a block 0,13 (indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l) may be employed for the purpose of holding the face and back plates separated at the proper distance apart, and when this construction is adopted rivets may be passed through the two plates and through this block to hold the parts assembled.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise manner of bending the face-plate so as to bring it to a position where it may be secured to the back plate, as it may be either an angularbend or a curve,as may be found preferable. It is also to be 'understood that instead of employing a slotted plate secured to the handle I may employ a plate am, swiveled at its inner end on the rivet a3, and provide the outer end of this plate with atoe or lug @L15 to engage with a slot L16 in the handle. The handle will be provided with a threaded extension au for engaging a threaded opening a18 in a block a, which will take the place of the cleats. It will be seen that by this arrangement I can eifect longitudinal movement of the handle with relation to the strop-body. It is also to be understood that the edges ofthe cleats may be rounded in any suitable manner to prevent interference between the plate and the cleats when the handle is moved laterally to bring it into position to be pushed between the cleats, and also that the plate a may be only as long as the cleats, or may be projected beyond the same and have its inner end slightly bent down, so as to form a guide to direct the handle-strip a to position between the face-plate and the plate a6. It is further to be understood that suitable means may be employed for preventing the handle from swinging out of the body of thestrop when not desired, as a stop or a spring in the handle to bear against either the inner surface of the back or the face plate, and that a handle constructed and operated as described may be adapted for use in connection with a brush or with any other suitable article where its use would be advantageous. It is still further to be understood that where the face-plate A2 is made of metal its exposed edges may be covered with hard leather for the purpose of presenting a neat and finished appearance and also to prevent injury to the razor, should the same cut through the stropping-surface.

While I have shown and described the metallic face-plate in the strop, I do not claim the same specifically herein, as it will form the subject-matter of a separate application led of even date herewith.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. A razor-strop havinga permanently-piv- IOO IIO

and a rivet for holding the back and front' plates assembled and passing through the slot of the handle-plate, substantially as and for the purpose specied.

4. A razor-strop comprising a rigid back plate and a resilient front plate, the two plates being provided each with a suitable stroppingsurface, one end of the front plate being bent to form a flange by which it is secured to the back plate, a rivet securing the other end of the face-plate and back plate together, cleats secured to the back plate, and a handle provided with a slotted plate, the plate being held against separation from the strop-body by the said rivet, substantially as described.

5. A razor-strop, comprising a front and a back plate, cleats secured to the back plate, a rivet for holding the front and back plates assembled, said rivet being located adjacent to the inner ends of the cleats, thereby leaving a clear space between the cleats and the face-plate, a reinforcing-plate secured to the cleats beneath the face-plate, a handle having a slotted plate held in place by the said rivet, the handle being adapted to be pushed between the cleats, whereby to be held iirlnly in place for use, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS OSBORNE HOLLAND.

Witnesses:

R. G. DYRENFORTH, R. M. ELLIOTT. 

